Located right near the Chenjiaci Subway Station, in thewestern part of the city, and with a floor space of 13,200 square metres in 19 buildings, the Chen Clan Academy is one of the famous historical sites typical of South China architecture. Built in 1636 in the late period of the Ming Dynasty with funds raised by the Chen families from 72 counties of Guangdong Province, it was a site for worship as well as a place for Chen''s children to stay while taking imperial examinations in Guangzhou.

In the academy, the spacious halls interespaced by courtyards and connected by verandas are decorated with a good collection of beautiful and exquisite Guangdong folk arts and crafts. Stone carvings, brick-carvings, lime sculptures, wood-carvings and objects of iron casting can be found everywhere. Decorations of artistic wood-carvings are especially superb and exquisite. All carved out of wood, the four screens at the front entrance and the twelve big screens in its "Sage-Gathering Hall" appear magnificent and imposing, and can be rated as rare pieces of artistic wood-carvings. Beams and niches in the acadimy are all decorated with delicate wood-carvings involving various interesting subjects. Wood-carvings of poems and pictures are mainly used to adorn the front-door walls, which seem to form a beautiful art gallery. Vivid in shape and life-like in appearance, the Shiwan ceramic figurines on the eaves are all made on themes taken from Chinese historical stories. This noted Ming-dynasty structure, once seriously damaged, has been renovated and restored to its original grandeur. It is the most complete and magnificent artistic structure in Guangdong Province still in existence.
 
After the abolition of the imperial examination in 1905, the academy became the Chen Clan Industrial School. Later on it became the Liberal Arts and Normal School, the Guangdong Athletic Academy and a middle school. In 1957, the municipal government listed it as a cultural relic under protection. The State Council in 1988 listed it as a national relic under special preservation. The layout and architecture, that of a typical academy of its day, remind the visitor of the dual function of the mansion. The houses on either wing accommodated students preparing for exams or waiting for results. Yet the strictly symmetric layout and the grandiose style make it different from other academies in China. The axis-symmetric design is consistent with the traditional concept of "centring to be respected," reflecting the authority of the Chen family''s ancestors and the purpose of bringing the clan. The rear building served as the ancestral hall, where there used to be more than 5,000 ancestral tables on the high extended shrine. Large-scale ceremonies were held here every year, including the Lantern Festival sacrifice, the spring sacrifice and the autumn sacrifice. The family would come from across the province to celebrate.